The Girl Who Never Feared Death
by Shadowthorn2013
Summary: Galaco is being deactivated on the 31st of October. I read this right after falling in love with Galaco's voice and I almost cried, however, I also found there was a petition you could sign to help try and save her. Please - this is written for Galaco's sake. Please read and sign the petition.


**A/N: As some of you may know, Galaco will be getting shut down on the 31st of October. The reason behind this being YAMAHA, creator of VOCALOID and handlers of Galaco, made it so that people who won her in her contest used serial codes to allow use of her. These serial codes would expire after a certain amount of time and you would have to e-mail YAMAHA for a new one. **

**A couple of months ago YAMAHA announced that they would no longer be giving out serial codes, and, as they can't make a permanent one, it means she would be shutting down permanently. There would be no way to (legally) obtain her and use her after that date. The project team announced that they would try to figure something out for Galaco and announce something before the 31st, but there are no guarantees of her continuation as YAMAHA said they are unable to sell her the way she is. **

**However, fans have started a petition to try and save her! In hope of getting the petition to YAMAHA and having them either re-create her as a new product, or just continue with the serial codes. The link to this petition will be on my profile.**

**Even if you're not a massive fan of Galaco, please, please, PLEASE, sign it! This is a Vocaloid that lots of people hold dear and love, and if shut down, many people would be heartbroken. The petition needs 10,000 signatures, but currently only has 1,000. Please sign and thank you for reading this fanfiction.**

[...]

**OCTOBER 29**

It was raining heavily, which really, was to be expected, considering it was nearing the end of autumn and the beginning of winter. Halloween seemed to be one everyone's minds, as people had already began setting out pumpkins in front of their houses and various other decorations, such as skeletons and bandages hanging from trees. The few people walking across the streets had umbrellas over their heads, all gossiping excitedly about the upcoming festivity. One girl walked alone in the rain, soaked through and umbrellaless, carrying a plastic bag of groceries.

Her hair was a spectacular sight - it went passed her waist and was half blonde, half brown. She also had three coloured stripes in her hair above her left eye. Red, blue then yellow. It was a darker shade than usual due to the sheer amount of rain that had darkened it. On top of the hair sat a shining crown.

The eyelashes framing her beautiful orange eyes were wet - not only due to the rain that trickled down her face and over her nose, but because of the salty tears that dripped down her chin. She sniffled, hiccuping as she walked. _One foot in front of the other, _she told herself, _one foot in front of the other..._

She wiped the tears away from her eyes with the back of her white jacket sleeve, before continuing to walk robotically. Her dress was also attention-seeking. The dress was short - ending above her knees, it was beautiful, with a galaxy pattern covering it entirely. Her boots matched, with the triangular zips clinking at every step she took.

The girl continued walking until finally, she stopped in front of a house. The house was pretty, with a sloped yellow roof and white walls, a few windows at the front and a nice, white picket fence surrounding the flourishing garden of roses, three cars jammed into the small garage and one outside. The galaxy girl pushed through the gate and entered the property, walking up to the door and pulling open the white fly-screen door.

"I don't see why YOU still get all the attention!" Someone screamed from inside the house, "Out of all of us, why are YOU the most popular, huh? Why do you get to be associated with those damned Cryptons?!"

"Maybe you'd be popular if you PUT ON A SHIRT!" Someone shot back. The galaxy girl didn't really feel the need to hurry into the room of arguments, so she simply unzipped her boots, hung up her white jacket and headed into the kitchen for a snack, wiping away more tears.

"Galaco?" A small voice asked, causing the galaxy girl to look down as another tear fell over her eye, plopping onto the cheek of a small, green boy, "Why are you crying?"

Galaco sniffled, getting down on her knees in front of the boy who was barely up to her knee, resting her hands on his shoulder, "Don't worry about me, Ryuto. I'm not sad."

"Then why are you crying?" Ryuto asked curiously.

"Of joy," Galaco faked a smile, "Isn't it your bedtime?"

"Everyone says you're shutting down soon," Ryuto said, causing a shiver to go down Galaco's back, "I-is it true?"

Galaco sighed, before smiling again, "Ryuto, did anyone ever tell you the story of the girl who didn't want to die?"

"No," Ryuto said, "Is it a good bedtime story?"

"Yeah," Galaco smiled and nodded, "And I'll tell it to you for bedtime."

Galaco stood, taking Ryuto's hand and leading him off to his bedroom. The bedroom was fully green and clean besides the few dinosaur toys on the floor. A big dinosaur plushie sat on the little boy's bed. Ryuto climbed into bed, holding his dinosaur plushie as Galaco put on his night light and turned off the main light, sitting on the edge of his bed.

"There was once a young girl," Galaco began, "By the name of Suzi. Suzi was a happy, young child, bright, beautiful and loved. When her grandmother died, Suzi was heartbroken, but mostly, she was scared. She'd realised that people could die - everyone could and would at sometime die. She didn't want to die. One day, when Suzi was going to the shops with her mother, she came across a mysterious looking man who held out his hand and offered Suzi a package.

"'In this package is an item that will make you live forever,' He told her. Suzi, fearing death, took the package from his hands, paying him all the pocket money she had. When Suzi got home that night, she opened the package and found a small box inside. When she opened the box, do you know what she found?"

"A magic apple?" Ryuto suggested, sucking on his thumb.

"She found nothing," Galaco continued, "There was nothing inside that box - nothing that could make her live forever. Suzi became even more frightened, she spent her days trying to avoid anything that could kill or harm her. Do you want to know what happened to Suzi?"

"...Did she die?" Ryuto asked.

"Ryuto, everyone dies," Galaco smiled sadly, "But Suzi - she died because she was stressed. Her fears came true purely because she feared it. Her parents mourned, cried and were very upset, but they never feared death. Do you know why that is?"

"So... So they wouldn't end up like her... Right?" Ryuto guessed, "So that they could remember her and miss her but live their lives to the fullest, right?"

"Yeah," Galaco smiled, kissing Ryuto on the head, "So dream about all the amazing things you can do in life. Think of all the amazing people you can meet. Don't think about the day it ends - think about all the days leading up to it - all the amazing things you can do and see and feel. Okay?"

"Okay," Ryuto smiled, as Galaco pulled the blanket over him and headed to the door, just before she closed it, she heard him say something in the darkness.

"What you're trying to tell me... Is to not be afraid when you leave, isn't it?" Ryuto asked. Galaco froze at the door, before smiling, a few tears forming in her eyes again.

"Yeah," She nodded, biting her lip and closing the door behind her, letting the tears fall down her cheeks.

"...You told him?" A voice asked. Galaco turned to see a man standing at the end of the hall, with long, purple hair tied up in a long ponytail behind him. Unlike usual, he wore a baggy black shirt with jeans. It suited him well.

Galaco nodded, more tears spilling over her eyes as she hiccuped. The man, Gakupo, looked away for a few seconds before sighing.

"W-w-we'll all miss you... You know," He stammered, "All of us."

Galaco squinted, trying to ward away more tears, finally breathing and suppressing her sobs, "I-is Cul o-okay?"

"She still won't come out of her room," Gakupo said, eyes saddened, "She keeps begging for you."

Galaco looked away for a few moments, "I-I just... Don't want everyone to... You know... D-d-dwell on it."

"We won't remember you," Gakupo sighed, "YAMAHA is having our memories wiped for fear it might cause some of us to commit suicide, or our performances to drop. W-we won't r-remember you."

Gakupo was starting to get emotional, Galaco could see that. He was trying hard not to, as he was supposed to be the strength of the household, the one to protect them all.

"What... I mean... How... How do I... Die?..." Galaco asked.

"I-I don't know," Gakupo stammered, "I-I can't r-remember if a-anyone's d-died before..."

Galaco nodded briefly, before turning towards Gakupo and throwing her arms around the tall man, sobbing into his chest. Gakupo bit his lip as a few tears fell down his cheeks, as he stroked her hair reassuringly.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry," Gakupo said, "Th-th-that... th-th-that's going t-t-t-to happen to y-y-you."

[...]

**OCTOBER 29: 11.00PM**

Galaco sat on the couch with a pillow brought up to her chest, her chin leaning on it as she stared at the blaring TV in front of her, not really paying attention to anything going on on the show she was watching. Her mind kept drifting to things - times she'd had in the household.

_"Where are you two going in such a hurry?" Cul laughed, watching Galaco and Gakupo as they quickly threw together a messy breakfast. Gakupo's involved raw eggplants and Galaco's uncooked waffles._

_"We have a recording session," Galaco explained in the middle of several mouthfuls, "We're singing 'Ah! It's a Wonderful Cat's Life' together, with help of Al and the twins." _

_"Galaco, don't eat with your mouth full," Gakupo scolded, his mouth full of eggplants chunks._

_"Hypocrite," Galaco shot back, finishing her waffles and bouncing up from the table, her crown amazing still on her head. She grabbed her jacket off the counter and called to Gakupo._

_"Gaku-nii! Hurry up!" She laughed, "Race you!"_

"Galaco?" A voice asked. Galaco looked up from where she was resting her head on the pillow, a few silvery tears in her eyes. Cul stood in the doorway of the hall, her eyes wide.

"H-hi, Cul," Galaco smiled, "You came out of your room, huh?"

Cul's lip started quivering, tears forming in her crimson eyes as she rushed forward and jumped onto Galaco, hugging her tightly.

"Hey, it's okay," Galaco sighed, hugging Cul back, "Don't cry."

Cul nodded, sitting on her knees and looking to the TV screen, a few tears still in her eyes, "What are you watching?"

"Some crappy show I don't even understand," Galaco laughed, resting her chin on the pillow again, "I'm just not really... interested."

Cul sat properly next to Galaco, sneaking under the blanket Galaco had draped over the couch and leaning on Galaco, "I'll miss you, you know."

_DING-DONG. _

_"Ah, that's the doorbell," Gakupo had said, "Galaco, can you get it?"_

_Galaco nodded, heading off down the hall and opening the door._

_"Master!" Galaco gasped when she'd seen the illuming figure standing at the door, "Ah! C-come in!" _

_Master walked into the kitchen and Galaco followed curiously._

_"Galaco, please come in - this does concern you after all." Master said, "Now, where's Ryuto?"_

_"He's off at Yuki's," Gakupo explained, "Why? What's wrong?"_

_"Ah... It's probably best if he doesn't know..." Master sighed._

_"Stop it with the pregnant pauses and tell us!" Lily demanded angrily, "We don't have all day!"_

_"...YAMAHA has been issued for Galaco to be shut down," Master sighed._

_"Wha?!" Cul yelled, shooting up from her seat at the dining table, "Wh-when?" _

_"This Halloween," Master explained, "I-I'm sorry, Galaco. There's nothing I can personally do to change his mind. The fans are trying to get 10,000 people to sign a petition but..."_

_"They can't do this!" Cul screamed, "They can't just kill her off!"_

_"Cul." Gakupo said sharply, "Calm down."_

_"They've... done it before," Master explained and everyone looked at him, shocked for a few moments, "You guys can't remember it - no-one can. Before even Meiko was released, they'd been working on other Vocaloids but... There were problems, and they were all shut down." _

_"But there's nothing wrong with Galaco except a few bugs! And everyone has those!" Cul shrieked, "THERE'S NO REASON TO SHUT HER DOWN!"_

"I know," Galaco sighed, biting her lip, pausing for a few seconds, "Cul... Promise me you'll keep going on when I leave, okay?"

The girl's eyes met, illuminated only by the blaring TV, "Y-y-yeah. I'll try."

Galaco hugged Cul again and Cul sighed, "I-I just... Don't want to lose you... Sis..."

"I don't want to lose you either but... It happens." Galaco sighed, pursing her lips, "I'm sorry..."

"It's not your fault," Cul growled, "It's YAMAHA's! I don't know why they're... Doing this..."

"Don't be angry at them," Galaco smiled, "If it weren't for YAMAHA, we never would've met."

"I... I hate... them..." Cul hiccuped, "Why are they doing this?!"

Cul sobbed into her sister's shoulder and Galaco found herself becoming teary eyed as well. The two stayed hugging to each other for the rest of the night.

[...]

**OCTOBER 30: 9.00AM**

"Everyone, wake up!" Gumi yelled from the halls, "It's breakfast time!"

Galaco stirred from where she'd fallen asleep on the couch, still hugging onto Cul. They'd both managed to stay in the exact same position, and Galaco's shirt was soaked through with tears. They both woke up at the same time thanks to Gumi's yelling, and headed into the kitchen. The sweet smell of waffles and jam floated through the house and Galaco felt her mouth watering.

"Mmm," Galaco said, "Waffles are the best..."

"They're like your item," Gumi grinned, dishing up plenty of waffles onto Galaco's plate, "Dig in!"

Galaco nodded, happily digging in. Everyone else took some, smothering theirs in the jam they liked the best. Gumi chose carrot, Cul chose strawberry, Gakupo chose to put some eggplant on his, Ryuto chose honey and Lily, as always, chose to put absolutely nothing on hers.

"Don't eat your waffles naked," Gumi told Lily firmly, causing Lily to glare at her.

"You trying to make a dig at my design?" Lily asked angrily.

"For a tsundere, you sure show a lot of skin," Gumi said, "That's all I'm saying."

Lily growled at Gumi, "You wanna fight, bunny rabbit?"

"Girls," Gakupo said firmly and the two froze and stopped, Lily easing back into her seat.

"You'll be in high demand today, eh, Galaco?" Gakupo asked, trying to spark some conversation, "I bet all your producers will be wanting to use you!"

"Ha, yeah, I'll be worn out good," Galaco smiled and Lily and Gumi passed a silent glare at each other.

Cul finished up her waffles and stood.

"Cul," Gakupo sighed, "Please don't just go back to your room..."

Just as he said that, the door closed and Cul headed down the hallway to her room, causing Gakupo to sigh in disappointment.

"She'll be okay, really," Gakupo said, trying to offer some moral support, "She's Cul - one of the most hardy girls I know. Besides Lily, that is."

"No, Lily's quite easy," Gumi said.

"YOU TRYING TO CALL ME A SLUT?!" Lily screamed.

"DO YOU TWO NEVER STOP?" Gakupo asked, enraged. The two went quiet, looking away from each other for a few seconds.

"Sorry, Gakupo." Gumi said, standing up, before looking at Galaco, who was still eating her waffles, "Hey, Galaco, if you get a break in having to record, do you wanna do something fun?"

Galaco looked up at Gumi and smiled, "Yeah, sure."

"Great," Gumi smiled, though her eyes betrayed sadness, "Come see me if you can, okay?"

"Yeah," Galaco nodded, "I best get going to the recording studio - got lots to do today, eh?"

[...]

**OCTOBER 30: 6.00PM**

"Ah, finally," Galaco said, as her last producer took the single they'd recorded to go edit. They couldn't hear her when she spoke - it was just the laws. Producers could never get to know their Vocaloids - they were destined to never be friends. The only communication they had was the producer handing the Vocaloid the sheet of lyrics with the notes and turning on the music.

Galaco picked up her bag from the couch and look at her watch. _Six pm already?... I suppose I won't be able to hang out with Gumi after all... Only six hours left until... die, I suppose._

Galaco's faceless producer took out a slip of paper and handed it to her, before smiling and walking off with the track of music.

On the sheet of paper had four simple words. _I'm sorry. I tried._

Galaco looked up at the retreating back of her producer and smiled to herself sadly as a few tears formed in her eyes. Of course. One of her producer's had started the petition...

Galaco headed home, noticing that it was no longer raining, but the sun was shining brightly and happily.

_All over the world... There are people - humans - dying. Their families grieve, some never recover. But twice as fast, people are being born - so that compensates, right? But not for those families, I suppose. With Vocaloids, we're made at a much slower speed and we're never supposed to die - but everyone dies. It's just humans are so frail, they can be killed by anything - us Vocaloids have to be shut down. It's not fair - but neither is life. In a way... I can see why humans fear death. Because there's is unpredictable. They're not told "you will die on October 31st". It just happens._

Galaco smiled, looking at the setting sun.

_I'm glad... That I was so loved... And that I'm not dying of surprise... But at the same time - wouldn't it be better to experience life... as a human?_

[...]

**OCTOBER 31ST: 7.00AM**

Cul stirred in her bed, rolling over and murmuring something in her sleep. Her pillow was sticky from the tears she'd shed the previous night, knowing that Galaco would die at midnight. Die, disappear, vanish - whatever you wanted to call it. However, Cul was sleeping peacefully, her mind free of such things.

As her eyes slowly opened, she blinked a few times.

"...Why is my pillow wet?..." She wondered aloud, wiping the wet patch, before frowning, "Ew - did I drool?"

Cul got out of bed, dressed in stawberry pink pyjamas as she trudged from her room sleepily, yawning and rubbing her eye. The smell of waffles wafted down the hallway as she walked slowly to the kitchen. Pushing the door open, Cul yawned.

"Morning everyone," She said.

"Morning, Cul~!" Gumi sang happily, "Want some waffles?"

"Waffles?" Cul frowned, "But no-one in the household likes waffles."

"I know, but I found heaps in the pantry for some reason," Gumi shrugged, buttering yet another waffle, "And some interesting jams in the fridge, so I thought let's not let it go to waste!"

"Just give it to some hobo," Lily growled, looking at the bare waffle sitting on her plate, "Waffles are disgusting."

"Even more so how you eat them," Gumi said, her bubbly personality vanishing for a few seconds, before returning as she popped some more waffles out the toaster.

_"What's your item?"_

_"I don't have one, but I really like waffles..."_

Cul frowned, before taking a plate of stawberry-jam-covered waffles and sitting in one of the chairs, frowning again when she saw there were six seats at the table, instead of five.

"There's six chairs," Cul said, "Why do we have six chairs?"

"Oh, what?" Gumi asked, looking at the dining table and seeing the extra chair, "Ah, probably for Master or some other important guest, you know. Actually, I never really noticed - silly me!"

"Dumbass you is more like it," Lily groaned.

"Do you want me to force you to make love with this spatula? Because I swear only my life I will, Lily," Gumi growled.

"Mornin' everyone!" Gakupo said, trudging into the kitchen sleepily, "How'd everyone sleep last night?"

"I think I drooled," Cul said, screwing up her nose, "Which is gross."

Gakupo looked at her for a few seconds, "You look like you've been crying, actually."

Cul frowned, finally noticing how dry her eyes felt, "Well that's weird..."

"Cry baby," Lily smirked.

"You really love this spatula, huh?" Gumi threatened.

Finally, Ryuto stumbled into the kitchen, holding his dinosaur plushie and yawning, looking at the table, "Waffles?"

"Yep," Gumi smiled.

"Okay," Ryuto said, hopping up on one of the chairs. Everyone began eating and, as it always was in the Internet household, it was a noisy meal. Lily and Gumi began fighting as always, while Gakupo tried to calm them and Cul was deep in thought. _Who likes waffles?..._

Suddenly, Ryuto spoke, "Can I tell you guys about my dream?"

Lily and Gumi froze mid-retort, looking at the small, green boy.

"Whatever," Lily huffed.

"Sure, what was it about?" Gumi asked.

"Well," Ryuto said, "I was a girl."

"You ARE a girl," Lily corrected.

"I'M GOING TO-"

"Girls!" Gakupo exclaimed, "Shut up!"

"Anyway, continue," Gumi smiled.

"I was a girl, and my name was Suzi. My grandma had died recently, and I was really afraid of dying," Ryuto explained, "I met this man on the streets, and he told me he had something that could make me live forever, so I paid him and took this little package home. In the package was a box and in that box there was nothing. There was nothing that could make me live forever. I died because I was so stressed from being scared, and my parents wept, but they didn't fear it like I did."

Everyone was silent, looking at the little boy.

"That sounds like a scary nightmare," Gumi said.

"It wasn't a nightmare," Ryuto said, "It was... a story. A message that it's better to enjoy life and live it to the fullest rather than fear death."

"...Where did you hear that story?" Gakupo asked.

Ryuto smiled, "A girl who never feared death told me."

**This is probably the saddest thing I've ever written... I tried to make it happy at the end, but I was nearly crying myself. Guys, please, sign that petition... **


End file.
